| Disabled in Delhi hold angry protests, demand rights
New Delhi, Sep 19 (ANI): Dozens of physically and mentally challenged people, affiliated to the Action for Disability Development and Inclusion (AADI) and the Disabled Rights Group (DRG) today organized a protest outside the office of the Planning Commission here, to demand their rights. They demanded their rightful due in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, to be implemented from 2007. The protestors expressed their frustration over Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia meeting other groups and not them. The protest however, ended in a scuffle with the police. Javed Abidi, the wheelchair bound convenor of the Disabled Rights Group, who now directs the National Centre for the Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, based in New Delhi, warned the protests would be stepped up if the voices of the disabled remained unheard.
UMass Transit adds five new buses
The University of Massachusetts Transit system added five new buses to its fleet in the middle of August, and plans to add another five by the end of the academic year.
The new buses were designed to be more accommodating to disabled passengers and are equipped with wheelchair-accessible ramps.
"On the older buses, passengers had to roll their wheelchairs onto the lifts in the back, and the bus driver would operate the lift. With the new buses, they can just roll on by themselves," said Transit Services manager, Al Byam.
The buses, which were manufactured by Gillig Corp. of Hayward, California, are run by the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA). They are blue and orange, seat 40 passengers, and are marked with the new PVTA logo.
"The new buses also have the most fuel efficient diesel engine," said Byam.
NN wants you to get on the bus to safety
Say a Category 3 or greater hurricane is bearing down on Hampton Roads, and areas are being evacuated. You don't have transportation, but a yellow school bus shows up in your neighborhood.
Get on it. That's the ticket out.
Evacuation plans for an estimated 7,000 residents of Newport News who lack transportation call for a fleet of school buses to pick them up and take them to safety. If it's a Category 2 or lower hurricane, that's typically a school designated as a shelter.
For a Category 3 and higher storms, the bus trip would be longer - out of the city.
While the practice has been in place for years, it was just Tuesday night that the Newport News City Council considered formally adopting it in a 222-page Emergency Operations Plan.
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